GM Performance Parts LSX Shootout- The Big Show

1/27Bragging rights for the LSX Shootout traded hands this year from 2007 champ Tom Kempf (foreground) to Steven Fereday after the top two qualifiers met in a winner-take-all showdown late in the evening at Memphis.

With 20 years under its belt, fans of the National Muscle Car Association have had a lot of memorable moments. Records have fallen, controversies have raged, and legends have been made as the spectacle of street car racing has unfolded before them. Nothing in recent years, however, has produced the magic from years gone by as the GM Performance Parts LSX Shootout, which was held for the second time in conjunction with the NMCA World Finals in Memphis. It was a big show that was made even bigger, thanks to all the excitement generated by the LSX Shootout.

All the big names from last year were back with a number of new faces showing up in the mix as well. In LSX Drag Radial, last year's two finalists both returned to make some noise, despite the more restrictive rules from 2007. Paul Major started things off by running a stunning 7.592-second pass at 190.97 in the first round of eliminations before suffering an event-ending top end fire the next round. In what could have been a successful defense of last year's title, Tom Kempf came from the second qualifying position to make the final rounds for the second year in a row.

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A certain fourth-gen black Camaro from the Late Model Racecraft stables in Houston stood in Kempf's way, however. Owned by a racing enthusiast in the Middle East, driver Steven Fereday and crew chief Josh Ledford dominated talk in the chat rooms for months before they arrived, and once there, they delivered. Fereday led qualifying with a 7.663 best at 185.79, and simply dominated in every round of competition leading up to the finals.

Nevertheless, it was a much tighter race for the 2008 LSX Drag Radial title than some might have expected. Fereday got off the starting line first with a slight holeshot advantage and needed every bit of it as Kempf was right beside him down the entire quarter-mile. As they crossed the finish, the scoreboards flashed a 7.586 at 188.52 for Fereday, and a 7.610 at 191.10 for Kempf. Fereday was the winner, but it took low e.t. of the meet for him to pull it off. Kempf, on the other hand, ran top speed of the weekend in a vain attempt to get around him. It was a final that was deserving of all the buildup that LSX Drag Radial had received leading up to this event.

3/27Steven Fereday and Josh Ledford simply owned LSX Drag Radial at this year's event with this stock suspension Camaro. Fereday qualified first with a 7.663 at 185.79, and ran an even quicker 7.586 at 188.52 to edge Tom Kempf's close 7.601 at a fastest 191.10 mph.

While GMPP's LSX All Motor class was about the same size as last year, Joe Honeycutt was the class of the field with the only sub 9-second run all weekend as his 8.961 at 154.58 led qualifying. Honeycutt ran over last year's winner, Kevin Patterson, in the semifinals with a 9.209 to a 9.348 victory, while Chris Fowler disposed of last year's other finalist, Judson Massingill, to make the finals against Honeycutt. Fowler didn't have the performance to match Honeycutt, so he tried to make it up on the tree. Honeycutt was right there, however, as he left first, and recorded a 9.203 time to lead wire to wire for the All Motor Shootout title.

In the GM Performance Showdown, 56 entries crowded the staging lanes to fight it out in what was one of the most entertaining street car events seen in a long time. With 12 different heads-up index classes for racers to choose from, racers were competing for $1,000 to win along with an LSX Bow Tie block, and a lot of recognition. After a brutal five rounds of competition, Cliff LeBlanc took his 1999 Trans Am to the finals when Isaac Gomez redlighted, while Rob Farley ran an 11.512 off his F/LSX 11.50 dial-in to win over Charlie Polly. In a final round between two different F/LSX entries, LeBlanc lost after running under his index as Farley crossed the stripe with an 11.545 at 106.81 mph. It was a great win in an even greater class.

New for 2008 was the LSX Truck and SUV category, which saw a wide variety of vehicles from all over the land. Running off the H/TLSX index, Jimmy Young's LSX-powered 1996 S-10 pickup was the champion with a 12.543 on a 12.50, while Toby Self broke out with a 12.921, which was too quick for his 13.00-second I/TLSX class index.

Of course, there was a lot more going on, with event and season championships up for grabs in the 11 other NMCA categories being contested at the World Finals. As eliminations wore well into the night, the darkness seemed almost nonexistent compared to the glow of what was simply a super weekend and an even greater year for NMCA racing.